Viva Air case: more than 43,000 users had to travel the second week of March

More than 43,000 people in the second week of March, they will be the new victims due to the massive cancellation of flights from VivaAir, which would cause significant trauma.. For this reason, from Superintendency of Industry and Commerce they ask the people concerned to denounce the SIC via the page for “infringement of rights”.

“The request, as well as the request for precautionary measures, can be filed using the Application “Ask here” or drop it off in person at the offices of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce at Carrera 7 No. 31 A – 36 floor 3 of the city of Bogotá,” the official said on his website. Superintendency of Industry and Commerce.

He Ministry of transportation in the first days of the contingency (February 28 and March 1-2), it managed to move 40,740 people so that they could reach their final destinations. While on March 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, 72,208 passengers were served: “We continue to support the availability of flights on airlines that can be occupied by affected users! #GovernmentOfThePeoplesaid MinTransporte in a tweet.

The cities where the highest number of passengers with this problem were presented were San Andrés, Santa Marta, Leticia, Medellín, Cartagena and Bogotá.

There are already cases in which the user has sued Viva Air and the SIC has come to an agreement with them, forcing them to return the money due to the cancellation of flights.

Less than 48 hours after the complaint was filed, the SIC ordered the airline the return of the money that the woman paid for her tickets, which must be done immediately or, relocate on a flight with another company at no additional cost.

The cessation of the activities of live air last Monday, February 27, not only affected the airline’s passengers, but also the Travel agencies from Colombia who have also booked low-cost flights for their customers.

According to the preliminary accounts of the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Anato)are at stake $4 billion of 4,500 passengers who have booked flights with Viva Air through these companies, to travel during the first half of this year.

This was confirmed to the newspaper El Colombiano, the Executive President of Anato, Paula Cortés Calle. “For the travel agency sector, for tourism and for the country, it is a very complex situation. Not only because of the passengers who will not be able to reach their tourist sites, but also because of the ability of the airline to make the return, through the agencies, of all the deposits that have been made,” he said.

In an interview with the newspaper El Tiempo, the General Manager of La Corona Travel, Diana Vargasstated that in the case of this agency Medellinthe cessation of Viva’s activities has affected them significantly 100% Well, on average they drive per month 1,500 chairs in tourist packages with the said airline.

The director of the tourist agency also told the Bogotá newspaper that, just for this month of March, they have already 500 million pesos in plane tickets paid with the airline while, during the months of october there Novemberthey had already paid 50% and 30%, respectively.

“Have more than 1,500 million dollars deposited in the Viva Air account, money that we do not have, which is very important that the passenger and the traveler know this, because if the airline ends, we have no way of responding,” the general manager of La Corona travel told El Tiempo.

The situation is just as critical for the country’s hotel sector. In dialogue with the newspaper El Colombiano, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cotelco Antioquia (Hotel and Tourism Association of Colombia), Juan Carlos Tiradoindicated that in the case of the union, the economic blow would be reflected in the cancellation of reservations.

The leader of the Antioquia hotel union also pointed out that with the departure of Viva Air from the airline market, travel in the region could even be reduced.

“We’re going to have to start doing the money comes back. There, each hotel has its own cancellation policy, in some cases it can take up to a few hours before,” Tirado told El Colombiano.

Although the Cotelco branch in Antioquia does not yet have figures on the percentage of reservations canceled in the region after the shutdown of Viva operations, the Cartagena informed the Antioquia newspaper that, according to a preliminary analysis, the 57.5% of housing whose affiliates are already reporting cancellations.